• Fusion

Restructuring components

Learn a valuable workflow for preparing an existing design to become an assembly.


00:03

In Fusion, you can prepare an existing design to become an assembly in just a few steps.

00:09

By manipulating the Timeline, you can create a new component and then move the sketches and features to the new component.

00:16

The Component Color Swatches and Display Component Colors options enable you to differentiate among components in an assembly

00:23

and the associated parametric features in the Timeline and in the Browser.

00:28

For this example, open the V-block clamp Fusion archive file.

00:33

Using the Create Components from Bodies tool is a great way to take an existing body and convert it to a component.

00:40

However, if the sketches used to create that body are unique to that body, it might be best to have them in the same component.

00:48

In this design, the V-block was created as the very first body, and the sketch used was the very first sketch.

00:55

If you had created a component first,

00:57

that sketch and the extrusion which created the body would have been contained within the component.

01:02

A useful technique for taking a body and its sketches and adding them to a component is to take advantage of the Timeline.

01:10

On the Timeline, drag the marker all the way to the beginning of the design.

01:15

This returns you to the same conditions as when the design was first created,

01:19

with no sketches, features, or bodies.

01:23

You now can create a new component.

01:25

On the Design workspace toolbar, Assemble tab, in the Assemble group, select New Component.

01:33

Enter the name “V-block”, deselect Activate to stay at the top level, and then click OK.

01:40

Next, on the Timeline, click Move to End to move the marker all the way to the end.

01:46

Expanding the Browser folders, you can see that the V-block component has an Origin folder,

01:52

but the Body and Sketch still exist at the top level.

01:55

Since the Body is a result of the Sketch, you can click and drag the Sketch down to the V-block component.

02:02

This moves that Sketch and the Body under the V-block component.

02:06

You can activate the V-block component to check this and see that the Sketch and the extrusion are there.

02:12

Activate the top-level component.

02:15

You can use another technique to verify this as well.

02:19

In the Timeline, click Settings, and confirm that Component Color Swatch is selected.

02:25

You will see color swatches in the Browser and in the Timeline for each component,

02:31

enabling you to view the parametric features associated with each.

02:35

To color the components on the canvas to match the color swatches,

02:38

on the toolbar, click Inspect > Display Component Colors, or press Shift+N.

Video transcript

00:03

In Fusion, you can prepare an existing design to become an assembly in just a few steps.

00:09

By manipulating the Timeline, you can create a new component and then move the sketches and features to the new component.

00:16

The Component Color Swatches and Display Component Colors options enable you to differentiate among components in an assembly

00:23

and the associated parametric features in the Timeline and in the Browser.

00:28

For this example, open the V-block clamp Fusion archive file.

00:33

Using the Create Components from Bodies tool is a great way to take an existing body and convert it to a component.

00:40

However, if the sketches used to create that body are unique to that body, it might be best to have them in the same component.

00:48

In this design, the V-block was created as the very first body, and the sketch used was the very first sketch.

00:55

If you had created a component first,

00:57

that sketch and the extrusion which created the body would have been contained within the component.

01:02

A useful technique for taking a body and its sketches and adding them to a component is to take advantage of the Timeline.

01:10

On the Timeline, drag the marker all the way to the beginning of the design.

01:15

This returns you to the same conditions as when the design was first created,

01:19

with no sketches, features, or bodies.

01:23

You now can create a new component.

01:25

On the Design workspace toolbar, Assemble tab, in the Assemble group, select New Component.

01:33

Enter the name “V-block”, deselect Activate to stay at the top level, and then click OK.

01:40

Next, on the Timeline, click Move to End to move the marker all the way to the end.

01:46

Expanding the Browser folders, you can see that the V-block component has an Origin folder,

01:52

but the Body and Sketch still exist at the top level.

01:55

Since the Body is a result of the Sketch, you can click and drag the Sketch down to the V-block component.

02:02

This moves that Sketch and the Body under the V-block component.

02:06

You can activate the V-block component to check this and see that the Sketch and the extrusion are there.

02:12

Activate the top-level component.

02:15

You can use another technique to verify this as well.

02:19

In the Timeline, click Settings, and confirm that Component Color Swatch is selected.

02:25

You will see color swatches in the Browser and in the Timeline for each component,

02:31

enabling you to view the parametric features associated with each.

02:35

To color the components on the canvas to match the color swatches,

02:38

on the toolbar, click Inspect > Display Component Colors, or press Shift+N.

Was this information helpful?